


Well, He's the Man of My List

by huffellepuff



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 11:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3567206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huffellepuff/pseuds/huffellepuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While he's gone undercover, Jake may technically (literally) be the man of Amy's dreams, but Teddy is the man of her list, and Amy Santiago lives and dies by her lists.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Well, He's the Man of My List

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as the preamble to a different fic I want to write, and then I quickly figured out it would be a beast of it's own. And then it kind of changed species midway through, but whatever. Not really beta'd because I wrote it in one sitting and decided it was better to post and be done with it, but hopefully it's not too much of a mess.
> 
> Brownie points to anyone who recognizes "the man of my list" reference (which was a more suitable title before the whole species change thing).

When Amy met Teddy, she was instantly charmed by his knowledge of codes and clear adherence to the rules. The dates they had gone on were fun, he was cute and a good kisser, and she felt like it had the potential to become a real relationship. But when he moved away, she had no trouble moving on.

She hadn’t thought of him much during the time since then, but when she saw him again at the tactical village she couldn’t deny that she was thrilled to see him. Teddy asked her out again and their dates picked up right where they had left off, no awkward or uncomfortable moments. Okay, other than that one time Amy made a sex tape joke, but that was an unfortunate side effect of spending all day with Jake investigating the robbery of a porn star’s house. It could have happened to anyone.

Before long, they had begun going on weekend getaways together and she had bought a new toothbrush to keep at his apartment. It had been a long time since she had been in a relationship that lasted this long, and she was happy. Content. She had a great boyfriend at home, and things at work were going great, even if Jake had begun acting a little strange. She assumed that he was probably just missing the extra drive that the bet had given them, since he didn’t seem to be challenging her nearly as much. That would pass eventually and things would go back to normal. It was all good.

And then Jake got that undercover assignment and told Amy about his feelings, “romantic stylez,” and Amy’s peaceful world came crashing down. She didn’t even get a chance to respond before he was gone, not that she had any idea of what she would’ve said. 

That night, Amy canceled her date with Teddy - it would have been too weird to see him right after _that_ \- and went home to try and figure out what just happened. She had never seriously thought of Jake that way, though there might have been a few times she caught herself staring at his lips a little more than was probably normal. They looked very soft and smooth and she just wondered what kind of chapstick he was using, that’s all. But even with that, she hadn’t thought of Jake as a person who even _had_ romantic feelings. Sexual feelings, of course, he was an open book on that front, but actual romantic ones? Not so much.

She went to bed replaying the last few weeks in her head, thinking of all those times he had acted strangely around her. Amy decided she might not be quite as good of a detective as she thought she was, if she didn’t see it. He said she looked like a _mermaid_ , for god’s sake. 

Amy dreamed about him that night, too. She was back outside the precinct with him and he said those words and instead of standing there in shock, she leaned in and kissed him. She woke with a start when her phone rang, and Teddy’s smiling face looked up at her from the screen. Amy felt so guilty and so confused about what had transpired over the last twelve hours that she felt she had to tell Teddy. So, she told him about what Jake said and that it put her in a weird headspace and that it would be fine and he shouldn’t worry, because she was with him. He seemed a little bit uncomfortable with it, but accepted it and they tried to move on.

She did her best over the next several weeks to not think about Jake at all. At first, it was easy at work, especially when she had a really good case. She was able to focus on getting work done and only thought about him much when Boyle would sigh loudly and talk about his “undying man love” for Jake. At home, she focused on things with Teddy. Safe, reliable, honest, simple Teddy. They went to museums and seminars on the weekends, and sometimes he would bring her new doilies. The initial bump that came when she told him about Jake’s confession was smoothed over, and things were good. Amy’s days generally went well.

Nights, though, were a problem. She kept having that dream, except it got worse every night. She would always lean in for the kiss, but each night the kiss got a little longer and a little more...involved. One night, she had dreamed that they had made their way from the street outside into a secret bathroom (how weird is that?) inside the precinct building, and that they had been undressing each other along the way. When she woke up that morning, she decided that something had to change, because this could not be healthy.

Ignoring it didn’t work, so she would do what she did best: analyze the crap out of it. She had never felt romantic feelings for Jake before he said those things and left, so it was probably just that he messed with her head a little. She was happy with Teddy. All this Jake stuff was her subconscious trying to process it, that’s all. Plus, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it’d been a few months now since she last saw Jake. She didn’t like him like him, she just missed him and his antics, and her brain was just working off of the last time she saw him, which was an…. unusual situation. So, she would think about all of the normal, good times they had, and it would all work itself out. No more dwelling on that night, no more dreaming about things she would really rather not dream about (they weren’t bad dreams, but they made mornings that she woke up next to Teddy feel rather uncomfortable, and it would be altogether easier if they would just stop).

And the dreams did stop. No longer did Amy spend every night outside the precinct making out with her partner, instead she spent them with him inside - sitting at their desks joking while they did paperwork, out on the street investigating a murder, in the briefing room cringing in unison at something Charles just said. She woke up from these dreams feeling even more confused than she did after the sex dreams (okay, the first dreams didn’t stop right away, they might have progressed a little further before they actually stopped). She missed Jake. A lot. Like, space out and think about Jake as soon as Teddy even mentions the word Pilsners, a lot. 

Amy might have developed feelings of some kind for Jake. Maybe, a little. Shit.

Once again, the dreams changed. She would still dream of things as they were before Jake left, but then suddenly everyone else would be out of the office and Jake would get serious and give his romantic stylez speech, except without anything about going undercover or about her being with Teddy, and he would kiss her and...well, things progressed as they had earlier. Amy continued to try and convince herself that it really was mostly his absence, and that her maybe kind of there feelings would go away when she had the real man back in her life, annoying her every day again. It would be normal, the dreams would stop, and she could move on with Teddy.

In October, the Captain announced that, as long as everything went according to plan, Jake would be back in a week. Up until that moment, Amy had managed to convince herself that things really would go back to normal when the came back. But when she got that news, her confidence fled and she realized that she had some choices to make.

Amy went home immediately after work and decided that the only option left was to do what she did best. She made some lists.

PROS TO DATING TEDDY  
-Responsible  
-Kind  
-Clean  
-Cute  
-Similar interests  
-Understanding  
-Predictable  
-Follows rules  
-Has ambitions  
-Has 401k and savings  
-Has a fuel efficient car  
-Great study partner  
-Safe

CONS TO DATING TEDDY  
-PILSNERS

PROS TO ~~DATING~~ ~~BEING WITH~~ PURSUING OPTIONS WITH JAKE  
-Knows me  
-Funny  
-Good detective  
- ~~Get to test out those dreams~~

CONS TO PURSUING OPTIONS WITH JAKE  
-We work together  
-We have no idea if it’ll work  
-He might not still like me

At the best of times, Amy was hesitant to follow her heart over logic. During something like this? Logic was all she had left to cling to, and her lists pointed to Teddy. She had a good thing with him, and it wasn’t worth screwing up.

When Jake returned and pulled Amy into the evidence lock up, her lists were briefly forgotten as she recalled a recent dream that had started off in a very similar manner. Thankfully, he asked her about Joe Uterus, and she came back to reality. Reality that worked with logic and logical consequences. So as soon as he began to talk about that night, she cut him off and stated that she was still with Teddy. She had expected and was slightly prepared for the brief pained look on his face, but she was not at all prepared for what came next. He told her that it was a mistake and he didn’t mean what he said. And that? That hurt. She was able to get out a “good” in response and tell him more about Joe Uterus, but she was reeling. 

For six months she dealt with all of the many feelings and dreams (oh, god, the dreams) that his confession brought up, and then he took it all back. She saw pain in his face, she wasn’t convinced he was being truthful just then, but if he was...what on earth did she go through that for? And then _why_ was she so upset if he _did_ change his mind about her, or if he had never meant it? She had made her choice. She would have Jake as a friend and partner, and Teddy as a boyfriend. Jake may have technically been the man of her dreams, if you wanted to get really literal about it, but Teddy was the man of her list. And Amy Santiago lives and dies by her lists.

Then of course Jake talked to her again and took back their last conversation. He did mean what he said six months before, he still felt that way, and he just wanted to be honest. Amy felt slightly overwhelmed by a mix of happiness (dammit, this was not the correct emotion) and panic, but she managed to thank him for being honest and stick to her guns about being with Teddy. She knew that that was her logical decision and she had to follow through. 

Jake made a quick sex tape joke before he was pulled aside by Rosa, and Amy grinned. She missed those jokes, though she would never admit that to anybody. As she absentmindedly took another drink from her cocktail (oh _god_ that really was terrible), she thought about how great it would be to have Jake’s humor back in her daily life at work. It had to be one of the things she loved most about him. 

...loved.

Oh. Shit.


End file.
